Dawgs By Nature
Another promising year bites the dust as the NFL draft becomes the focus
This weekend, the two-win Cleveland Browns got roasted by the three-win New Orleans Saints. After the contest, a convincing 35-14 defeat, “the season that wasn’t” began to take on a new direction: to see if Cleveland could obtain the number 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
During this year’s off-season, it was assumed that the Browns could build on their 11-game season from last year and clip off several good years with a roster that was built to win now. Right away in Week 1, it was apparent that football teams are built on paper which doesn’t always translate to the field.
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Now, the Browns are 2-8-0. The playoffs aren’t going to happen. A last-place finish in the division is apparent, and at season’s end, many players will find new employment opportunities next year. A coach or three, the GM, and the front office could see new faces next year as well. It always happens when teams have high hopes, and then not just fail, but bomb miserably.
For the remainder of the schedule, will this roster play to win the remaining games? Of course. These men are professionals. They have pride in what they do, and most never give up regardless. They also know, that men who quit become unemployed men who quit.
The Browns will use lots of players that aren’t starters in the back half of the schedule. It is only right. These other guys sweat and work just like the first team guys do, and show up every day with a starting mentality. It only makes sense for the coaching staff to begin inserting athletes to gain valuable live game experience and begin that portion of their development. The coaches also need to know which players to retain for next year’s camp and who to allow to move along no matter who they are.
Can Browns fans expect to see OG Zak Zinter getting more snaps in Wyatt Teller’s place? Will Winston Reid replace guys like Devin Bush at linebacker? Will we see more Jamari Thrash in the offense or D’Anthony Bell supplanting Juan Thornhill at safety?
At this point, Cleveland has a very good shot at gaining the first overall pick in next year’s college draft. They have competition, though, from clubs that are in a dark place just like the Browns. Let’s take a look.
These are the updated current standings.
The Jags became the league’s first nine-game loser simply because their bye week is next weekend. They do have plenty of games that are winnable left on their schedule including the Tennessee Titans (2-8-0) twice, the New York Jets (3-8-0), the Las Vegas Raiders (2-8-0), and the Indianapolis Colts (5-6-0). However, the franchise possesses one of the easiest strength of schedules (SOS) at .483.
Jacksonville’s defense is horrible as evidenced by their 52-6 beatdown to...
